The Rock Family of Companies is made up of nearly 100 separate businesses spanning fintech, sports, entertainment, real estate, startups and more. We're united by our culture - a drive to find a better way that fuels our commitment to our clients, our community and our team members. We believe in and build inclusive workplaces, where every voice is heard and diverse perspectives are welcomed. Working for a company in the Family is about more than just a job - it's about having the opportunity to become the best version of yourself.
Rocket Central is a centralized hub that delivers thoughtful and innovative solutions for Rocket Companies . We are the center of operations, technology, marketing, HR, legal, strategy and more that propels our companies forward. Here, we'll give you the opportunity to launch your career and work with various companies, spanning multiple industries from fintech, to auto and real estate. We offer you the tools you'll need to succeed, no matter what stage you're at in your career. You'll be able to master your craft here by working on complex problems in a collaborative culture and challenging yourself to make a real impact.
Apply today to see all that Rocket Central has to offer!
Minimum Qualifications
10+ years of creative experience5+ years of leadership experience in a creative role Marketing KnowledgeBudgeting KnowledgeProficiency in Microsoft Office and the Adobe suite, including Flash
Job Summary
As an Executive Creative Director, you'll have the opportunity to work closely with our Chief Marketing Officer and Marketing team to develop best-in-class creative solutions while communicating, executing and sustaining cross-platform strategic initiatives. In this role, you'll direct and lead the creative function so that the environment, culture, team, capabilities, tools, processes, expectations, work style and other elements support the strategic goals and objectives of the Rocket Companies and Rocket Mortgage brands and, most importantly, our culture.
Responsibilities
Ensure that our creative product delivers on high standards, remains cutting-edge and stays ahead of our competition (i.e., best in class) at all times Oversee and manage a creative function with 75+ team members that operates in an efficient and effective manner while seeking out innovative ways to deliver results Lead the development of concepts and strategies for a particular venture and monitor progress, implementing our creative vision and becoming the point of reference for any creative plan that may be making its way to our clients Listen, question, prioritize and translate business situations, marketing goals and information into strategic brand concepts through the production process Work with other leaders and teams to ensure creative and messaging needs are met while adhering to the guidelines for strategy, brand messaging and integrated communication channels Inspire and motivate the Creative team to exercise innovation and enhance brand storytelling using brainstorming sessions, team meetings and other strategic tools Work with the CMO and the CEO to evolve a Creative team structure that's effective and efficient while also serving as a leader, mentor and coach to all team members Be engaged in the marketing/advertising community to share the brand story and constantly recruit potential Creative team member candidates
Who We Are
Rocket Companies is a Detroit-based company made up of businesses that provide simple, fast and trusted digital solutions for complex transactions. The name comes from our flagship business, now known as Rocket Mortgage , which was founded in 1985. Today, we're a publicly traded company involved in many different industries, including mortgages, fintech, real estate, automotive and more. We're insistently different in how we look at the world and are committed to an inclusive workplace where every voice is heard. We're passionate about the work we do, and it shows. We've been ranked #7 on Fortune's list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2022, as well as ranking #1 for Fortune's Best Large Workplaces in Financial Services and Insurance List in 2021.
Disclaimer
This is an outline of the primary responsibilities of this position. As with everything in life, things change. The tasks and responsibilities can be changed, added to, removed, amended, deleted and modified at any time by the leadership group.
We are proud equal opportunity employers and committed to providing an inclusive environment based on mutual respect for all candidates and team members. Employment decisions, including hiring decisions, are not based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, military or veteran status or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law. We also provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with state and federal law.
The Company is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer, and does not discriminate in any hiring or employment practices. The Company provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with state and federal law. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation in completing the application and/or participating in the employment application process should notify a representative of the Human Resources Team, The Pulse, at 1-800-411-JOBS.
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How to hire an executive creative director
Executive creative director hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring executive creative directors in the United States:
- The median cost to hire an executive creative director is $1,633.
- It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
- HR departments typically allocate 15% of their budget towards recruitment efforts.
- Small businesses spend $1,105 per executive creative director on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
- It takes approximately 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
- There are a total of 13,012 executive creative directors in the US, and there are currently 72,952 job openings in this field.
- New York, NY, has the highest demand for executive creative directors, with 6 job openings.
How to hire an executive creative director, step by step
To hire an executive creative director, consider the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Follow these steps to hire an executive creative director:
Here's a step-by-step executive creative director hiring guide:
- Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
- Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
- Step 3: Make a budget
- Step 4: Write an executive creative director job description
- Step 5: Post your job
- Step 6: Interview candidates
- Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new executive creative director
- Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist
What does an executive creative director do?
An executive creative director is primarily in charge of directing and overseeing creative projects and campaigns. They manage a company's creative team that typically consist of writers, graphic designers, and content specialists. As an executive creative director, it is their duty to set goals and timelines, understand the client or company's needs, conceptualize plans and insights, control the budget, and develop strategies to optimize operations and outcomes. Moreover, they monitor the progress of all projects and campaigns, resolving issues and concerns should there be any.
Post an executive creative director job for free, promote it for a fee
Identify your hiring needs
First, determine the employments status of the executive creative director you need to hire. Certain executive creative director roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.
Determine employee vs contractor statusIs the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?Hiring the perfect executive creative director also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.
The following list breaks down different types of executive creative directors and their corresponding salaries.
Type of Executive Creative Director Description Hourly rate Executive Creative Director Art directors are responsible for the visual style and images in magazines, newspapers, product packaging, and movie and television productions. They create the overall design of a project and direct others who develop artwork and layouts. $42-144 Graphic Design Manager A graphic design manager is primarily in charge of leading and overseeing the efforts of a graphic design team, ensuring adherence to goals and deadlines. It is their duty to learn and analyze the purpose of design, coordinate staff, liaise with internal and external parties, set goals and objectives, manage schedules, and conceptualize plans... Show more $23-43 Lead Graphic Designer A lead graphic designer is responsible for creating, designing, and updating the company's visual aspects. The lead graphic designer works closely with the branding department alongside the advertising and marketing team... Show more $21-62 Create an ideal candidate profile
Common skills:- Sketch
- Graphic Design
- Creative Direction
- Creative Strategy
- Digital Marketing
- Photography
- Creative Concepts
- Creative Output
- Video Production
- Integrated Marketing
- Brand Marketing
- Art Direction
- Creative Process
- UI
Responsibilities:- Manage marketing teams of SEO & PPC experts, marketing managers, and sales professionals.
- Gain ranking in Google via SEO efforts, build social media presence, and manage PPC campaigns.
- Lead and supervise creative teams and create award-winning advertising campaigns and programs that target physicians, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals.
- Full campaign management responsibility from conception to completion which includes copywriting, campaign scheduling, sales lead generation and execution.
- Participate in brainstorming and idea creation sessions for various clients to assist in the development of new products and services
- Collaborate with creative and social media team in brainstorming and producing on brand graphics for the company's Facebook posts.
Make a budget
Including a salary range in the executive creative director job description is a good way to get more applicants. An executive creative director salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.
For example, the average salary for an executive creative director in Arkansas may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level executive creative director. Additionally, an executive creative director with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.
Average executive creative director salary
$162,850yearly
$78.29 hourly rateEntry-level executive creative director salary$88,000 yearly salaryUpdated December 16, 2025Average executive creative director salary by state
Rank State Avg. salary Hourly rate 1 New York $212,822 $102 2 Illinois $192,036 $92 3 California $154,003 $74 4 Michigan $148,612 $71 5 North Carolina $147,067 $71 6 Minnesota $139,284 $67 7 Georgia $138,631 $67 8 Virginia $136,849 $66 9 Florida $128,832 $62 10 Rhode Island $125,234 $60 11 Ohio $124,812 $60 12 Pennsylvania $113,250 $54 13 Colorado $92,932 $45 Average executive creative director salary by company
Rank Company Average salary Hourly rate Job openings 1 Estée Lauder $243,203 $116.92 9 2 Aveda $234,129 $112.56 3 BBDO Detroit $225,627 $108.47 4 Qualcomm $220,620 $106.07 1 5 SoulCycle Holdings, LLC $213,393 $102.59 6 Coach $213,131 $102.47 7 Wunderman Thompson $204,680 $98.40 8 Amazon $203,846 $98.00 96 9 Shiseido Americas Corporation $201,837 $97.04 10 Genvid Technologies $198,857 $95.60 11 Cavalry Portfolio Services $198,857 $95.60 12 WarnerMedia $196,930 $94.68 13 Avanade $196,884 $94.66 1 14 Creative Artists Agency $191,379 $92.01 10 15 Petal $190,937 $91.80 16 Chewy $189,433 $91.07 1 17 JPMorgan Chase & Co. $188,542 $90.65 178 18 VICE $188,517 $90.63 19 AKQA $187,675 $90.23 20 Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising Worldwide Inc $183,402 $88.17 Writing an executive creative director job description
A good executive creative director job description should include a few things:
- Summary of the role
- List of responsibilities
- Required skills and experience
Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of an executive creative director job description:
Executive creative director job description example
Post your job
To find the right executive creative director for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:
- Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
- Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with executive creative directors they would recommend.
- Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit executive creative directors who meet your education requirements.
- Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.
- Post your executive creative director job on Zippia to find and recruit executive creative director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
- Use field-specific websites such as dribbble, authentic jobs, working not working, coroflot.
- Post a job on free websites.
Interview candidates
During your first interview to recruit executive creative directors, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.
Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.
The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.
Send a job offer and onboard your new executive creative director
Once you've decided on a perfect executive creative director candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.
It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.
To prepare for the new executive creative director first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.
Go through the hiring process checklist
- Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
- Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
- Define job responsibilities and requirements
- Establish budget and timeline
- Determine hiring decision makers for the role
- Write job description
- Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
- Promote the job internally
- Process applications through applicant tracking system
- Review resumes and cover letters
- Shortlist candidates for screening
- Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
- Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
- Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
- Conduct background checks on top candidates
- Check references of top candidates
- Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
- Extend offer to top candidate(s)
- Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
- Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
- Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
- Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
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How much does it cost to hire an executive creative director?
Recruiting executive creative directors involves both the one-time costs of hiring and the ongoing costs of adding a new employee to your team. Your spending during the hiring process will mostly be on things like promoting the job on job boards, reviewing and interviewing candidates, and onboarding the new hire. Ongoing costs will obviously involve the employee's salary, but also may include things like benefits.
You can expect to pay around $162,850 per year for an executive creative director, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for executive creative directors in the US typically range between $42 and $144 an hour.
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Updated December 16, 2025